Kalamazoo City Commissioners want to put more emphasis and money into youth sports. They view it as an important way to curb crime and violence, and get children off to a good start. They are talking about everything from tackle football to chess, from e-gaming to archery to baseball. Commissioner Chris Preadel and Vice Mayor Don Cooney say youth sports would be a great use for federal Covid dollars.
Monday night the Commission approved the creation of a subcommittee to come up with a short term plan to beef up programs this year, and a longer term plan to for more expansion. City Manager Jim Ritsema says they will need recommendations by March for this year.
Public Safety already operates several youth sports leagues in Kalamazoo, but as volunteers, and other non-profits also do sports like baseball and soccer.
